Oddo has conflict of interest day one

Thu, 07/19/2012 - 8:01amLetters to the ...

All Fayette County voters have a unique opportunity on July 31. You can elect an experienced commissioner who has a proven record of working for all of Fayette County. You can chose to re-elect an experienced commissioner who has represented every resident of Fayette County, whether you live in northern Fayette County, Peachtree City, Tyrone or the southern end of the county.

Or you can vote for a political newcomer who brings in a major conflict of interest day one when he takes office.

In my six years, I have proven time and time again, that I am the commissioner who gives fair representation to every resident of the county. I have remained committed to the county’s land use plan, as well as traffic mitigation in the county.

I have offered continued support to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the county fire department and EMS, and played a key role in the expansion of the county’s E-911 center.

Over the past six years, I have been committed to Fayette Senior Services as our aging population continues to grow, and I played a key role in eliminating double taxation for the residents of Peachtree City for EMS services.

I have played a key role in the expansion of the Fayette County Library, and also took the lead role in a private-public partnership to build a new Mental Health Facility at no cost to the tax payers.

As a member of the Board of Health, I worked to move the WIC center to a new facility. The state provided the cost of the buildings, and the county constructed the parking lot and handled all landscaping with out any additional costs to Fayette County Citizens.

I have also remained committed to expanding and improving our recreation services here in Fayette County.

I have been the voice of all residents of the county to continually grow our recreation facilities to insure the quality of life we have come to expect in Fayette County.

I have remained throughout the last six years the independent commissioner, the people’s commissioner working for the entire county.

Or you can vote for my opponent who has an immediate conflict of interest when he takes office. My opponent has a conflict in regard to his brother, who is currently serving as a Fayetteville City councilman.

The cities and county often negotiate joint projects and cost-sharing arrangements. We have a major one upcoming with the local option sales tax collections — if approved by voters — as city and council officials would be tasked to negotiate the revenue sharing from the LOST collections. This agreement would be binding for the next 10 years.

I think it would be virtually impossible for the county and city to carry out these negotiations when two brothers involved are related and share a business and work together daily.

The result of the negotiation will determine whose property tax increases — those in the city of Fayetteville or those who live in unincorporated Fayette County.

Not to mention that the Oddo brothers are large land owners and developers, who frequently have tried to annex their property into the city for high density development.

As we move into another term, experience does matters, as does the ability to work for all residents of the county, with no conflicts of interest. All Fayette County voters have the opportunity to re-elect the one commissioner who has been the voice of the people.

I will remain committed to working for all of Fayette County. I am humbly asking you to give me that chance Tuesday July 31st.

Comments

Do you really want Horgan and his marijuana conviction, then being fined for violating the terms of his parole, then being found guilty by a 3 county ethics panel for violating his oath of office, and finally fined by his fellow Fayette County commissioner's.

With a record like that, why would anyone think this guy is worthy of holding a public office?

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Fayette County records show that Horgan had a Federal tax lien in the amount of $19,010.84. I'm sure this was just a bookkeeping error and no inference should be drawn about his inability to pay his taxes on time.

First of all, let me thank you for the contributions you have made as a commissioner and your other work in our community.

Second, let me present some observations of your self-described independence. In about four years of attending commission meetings, I donâ€™t recall ever seeing you vote independently of the other commissioners (I didnâ€™t attend every meeting, so may have missed the one when you did). In every vote taken during meetings I saw, you consistently voted in step with Smith, Maxwell, Frady, and Hearn, and later with Frady and Hearn (many refer to your bloc as the â€œ3 Amigosâ€, especially on key issues).

Third, Iâ€™m confused about your claim of being the voice of all citizens. Take a poll, Commissioner Horgan, and discover how many of us in Fayette County were not represented by your voice on issues like failure to bid on contracts, your opposition to advertise & interview for open Board positions, barging ahead with the West Fayetteville Bypass, and opposing the opportunity to invoke HB 240 to reduce property taxes.

The fiscally conservative citizens of Fayette County never heard your voice opposing $90,000 thrown at .3 miles of Snead Road paving, approving an early retirement plan thatâ€™s created a million dollar-plus hole in the budget while simultaneously creating over 30 vacancies, of which a number are key & essential personnel. We also are dumbfounded with your lock step support of a half million dollar compensation package with no advance public notice. Deferred fire dept expenses? Maintenance on the jail to prevent out-sized future repair expenses? Your "independent voice" joined the Frady-Hearn choir on these matters too.
When you approved the Sheriffâ€™s request for a $12k annual pay raise because the job he ran for paid less than the one he chose to give up, whoâ€™s voice were you? Go along, get along.

You certainly didnâ€™t protest on our behalf when you voted lock step to impose the public comment sign-in requirement. And were you Chairman Fradyâ€™s, or Kasim Reedâ€™s voice when you opposed a â€œno-transit in the countyâ€ referendum?

Fourth, the Oddo brothers only assumed ownership of the family property last year; and there was a single annexation (some 15 years ago) of their property that the city of Fayetteville requested as a pre-condition for construction of the southside Kroger.

Finally, itâ€™s bizarre that youâ€™d characterize Fayetteville City Councilman Paul Oddo, your opponentâ€™s brother, as a conflict of interest. What aspect of Councilman Oddo do you find objectionable: his values? His civic commitment? His work ethic? His entrepreneurship as a small business owner? His sound judgment and temperament? The fact he recused himself from city council hearings where zoning variations to his land were discussed?

Candidate Charles Oddo is cut from the same cloth. Electing him blesses us citizens with two outstanding public servants.

Both men have a rock solid reputation as businessmen - one as an accountant - a profession with widely accepted standards of conduct and regular oversight by multiple government auditors, and the other as an experienced business administrator. Unlike you, neither has been charged and found in violation of multiple counts of the Fayette County Ethics ordinance during a current term, so neither has had such a conviction upheld in state court on appeal and been fined & formally reprimanded by fellow commissioners.

The Oddoâ€™s familial relationship would enhance cooperation between the two jurisdictions, and thereby contribute to solutions for the public good.

If youâ€™re worried about some conspiratorial collusion, remember that it takes a majority of both the Fayette County Commission and Fayetteville City Council to approve a zoning request or other matter before the respective bodies.

Thanks Bob. Those are good points. I agree with you on Charles Oddo. I think he will make a good Commissioner and I will be voting for him.

On your comments about Robert Horganâ€™s lack of independence, thatâ€™s also a good point and I agree. Itâ€™s not good for the county to have Commissioners who donâ€™t think for themselves and who think only of their voting block or little circle. Youâ€™ve pointed out one reason I sought out and met with Sheila Huddleston and Susan Stopford. I wanted to look into, and decide, it they were or werenâ€™t part of a faction or clique that would put its own interests first. My conclusion is that they are not, and I do believe that they will be independent and vote for the best interests of this community.
Citizen Peter

I thought it odd that Barlow, Ognio and Oddo chose to advertise together and ride together in the Independence (get it?) Day parade. Since then I have met both Randy and Charles and am satisfied of their independence from each other and any other group. I am sure Shelia and Susan are independent as well, as you say. I would be happy with any of the 4 being elected and the one that is left over can come take the mayor's place in Peachtree City.

I still am uncomfortable with Barlow and his money mismanagement and today we find out that Brown has donated $150 to his campaign.

and just continue to recommend that folks watch the candidate interviews on Comcast Channel 25 but I fear that message isn't getting through so I'll just be more direct. Ognio can't string together four intelligent sentences!! It would be CRAZY to elect this guy. Additionally, he has been endorsed by Brown and I can't help but think the payback for that is a vote for Chairman. Another CRAZY possibility. Please rethink your support.

As for Barlow, I have mentioned on here before that he yelled at me twice that I was going to have to answer to God for supporting the TSPLOST. I get it that many on here are against it but...answer to God...really? Can you imagine the level of discourse and debate among the commission if he thinks God is on his side on every issue? Once again...CRAZY!!

You're not exactly known for your ability to sort out fine details so let me point out that I didn't endorse anyone.

I have also heard Ognio speak and have had several conversations with him. Long before the Road Rage editorial came out, I heard him twice at County Commission meetings and tagged him then as "Angry Man". He is clearly angry about the workings of the county commission but, unfortunately, he is also clueless as to what to do about it. This is abundantly clear by listening to the interviews on Comcast Channel 25.

It's not enough to be angry (as you typically are as well), you have to have a plan to improve things and you have to be able to articulate that plan to the voting public. Ognio falls woefully short on both accounts. However, judging from your shortcomings as a communicator, I can see how, by comparison, you admire him.

Angry? You come on here daily for months and call people names and insult them every time they question your motives? And you want to talk about angry? More insults from you are just a badge of honor for those who play here. "Tag" everyone, as you just have to do in your small little mind.

Actually Ed, most of us don't have a problem with angry men/women. To me at least, directed anger means that someone actually cares about the issues that confront us as a community.

You are an obviously angry man yet I have seen no one in these blogs take you to task for that "anger". In fact, considering the personal attacks that you have unleashed on many of the bloggers that do not agree with you and the resulting damage that you have done to your cause, I would be surprised if your employer and other Tsplost advocates are not getting a wee bit angry by now. Your anger, coupled with your "my way or the highway" attitude, and your total lack of a sense of humor, have not endeared you to the vast majority of the contributors here.

I've observed Randy Ognio in varied situations over the last four years. I've never once seen him angry. He is a serious minded individual who stands up for the taxpayers' interests.

If you had attended more than one commission meeting, you would have heard Mr. Ognio speak in great depth about hundreds of Agenda Items.

He is very concerned about the county's practice of awarding county contracts to companies without a bidding process, which is nothing more than non-transparancy in government.

I have heard him repeatedly speak on behalf of the citizens' rights to be heard and recognized at our commission meetings.

During many commission meetings, I have heard him technically evaluate the pros and cons of repairing or replacing very expensive pieces of county equipment.

Last year, Chairman Frady was pushing to have a registration process for the public's participation during the comment portion of the commission meetings. Randy Ognio very eloquently spoke about those folks who want to attend the commission meetings but aren't able to get there in time to register before the meeting. He spoke about the person who has driven an hour from work only to arrive five minutes after 7:00 PM and then is denied the opportunity to speak because his work didn't allow him to get there ten minutes earlier.

When Mr. Frady wanted to push the Public Comment portion of the commission meetings to last place on the Agenda, Randy Ognio got up a talked about the fact that the public's participation would then be after the fact. In other words, the commission would vote on Agenda Items before the public even had an opportunity to voice their approval or disapproval.

Randy Ognio has spoken many times during commission meetings about the fact that all county projects are designed by and contracted through Mallett Consulting. He has spoken about the fact that Mallett Consulting
has a monopoly when it comes to county projects. He has spoken about the fact that Mallett Consulting works for the Atlanta Regional Commission.

There has not been anyone to defend the interests of Fayette County citizens more than Randy Ognio. He knows what it is like to work hard for a family and he respects that in every other citizen.

Mr. Ognio is a successful small business man in Fayette County and he knows how to steer a company through bad times. He has successfully done that with his own company for 38 years.

I remember Mr. Drake coming to one, possibly two, commission meetings over the last four years. Perhaps if he had been there more often, he would have been able to speak with more knowledge about Mr. Ognio.

I had a conversation with Randy in April where he continued to insist that GDOT ran MARTA and no matter what I said, he refused to believe any differently.

I have been to two or three board meetings where he has gotten up to speak, the second of which he complained about everything in general without being able to draw a specific conclusion and literally seemed relieved when the buzzer sounded so he could go sit down.

Finally, I think his interview on Comcast is alarming in its lack of breadth.

Despite that, I acknowledge that I really do not know him and I regret that I posted something calling his intelligence into question. I was going to delete it but someone responded before I did and then it was too late (I'm sure there is a valuable lesson there). I still do not think he is well qualified or the right person for the job but I apologize for my comments.

the know-all, be-all Mr. Drake to lead us! How did we manage to exist without him explaining things to those of us who do not share his superior intelligence and comprehension? And, oh, does he know how to be subtle. Calling those who do not agree with him (and that is most of us) names--but oh, he does it oh so subtly. How I wish he had been around when I made all those other wrong decisions (or are they wrong or just would be considered so by Mr. Drake??) I would venture to bet that our Mr. Drake is voted Mr. Congeniality in any group he deigns to honor. AS for his having to answer to God for his supporting T-SPLOST, per Barlow, I sometimes feel he thinks we all should answer to him for not supporting the same S-PLOST. But, then, he does seem to exhibit somewhat of a God complex on this site.

I take issue with his approach and his lack of honesty. I lived in PTC when he was mayor and got to witness his total lack of leadership which resulted in his "administration through editorial". He couldn't lead, couldn't get along, couldn't accomplish so he took to the papers week after week to whine, complain, mislead and assassinate character. It was pathetic and for that, I and about 75% of the voters, relieved him of his duties.

Miraculously, and unfortunately, he has resurrected as a commission member and I have gotten to witness his immeasurable dishonesty. Clearly, we are engaged in a very important debate on an historic referendum. One that you and I disagree on but I am always interested to read your point of view and review the data you present. Steve, on the other hand, argues through misdirection and fear. First off, he likes to present himself as a transportation expert although I can't imagine how a failed single term as mayor and half a term as county commissioner elevated him to that status. Nonetheless, with folks thinking he has some sort of expertise he has mislead them to believe the following:

- MARTA is coming to Fayette County. Anyone with any knowledge of the situation and some intellectual honesty knows that is not the case.

- TSPLOST calls for an enormous expansion of MARTA. In truth, he typically says "enormous expansion of transit" but then quickly turns the discussion to MARTA because that is the great bogeyman. A review of the project list shows that almost all of the MARTA projects are maintenance and upkeep projects. There are also studies for potential projects and the roughly 4 mile expansion of the line to CDC/Emory.

- We're all going to be forced to pay for MARTA. This is normally followed by some comment that a DeKalb or Fulton County politician made which can't be corroborated, but even if true, is meaningless. MARTA has been complete for about 37 years and Fulton and DeKalb have wanted the other metro counties to join in paying for it for at least that long. Any reasonable person though, knows that the representatives from the other counties will never go along with that.

- The TSPLOST will last for 30-40 years. I have posted, and Steve should know if he did any research, that to reimpose the tax is a four step process which includes the county governments, legislature and public all agreeing to extend it. Steve leads folks to believe that the legislature will just extend it on their own, which not only violates this bill but doesn't even reflect the legislatures history. If they were inclined to just raise our taxes to pay for transportation, then they would have just done it this time and saved us all the trouble of a referendum.

I could go on but this is not how I plan to spend my Saturday. What this leads to, not surprisingly, is total mistrust of Steve on all other issues. He may be right on most all issues facing the county but if he sat down with me one-on-one and explained the issue and his position, I would have a hard time coming away convinced because I know his history of misleading, embellishing, and demagoguing. That's no kind of man to have leading your county.

Only the ignorant sheeple who were asleep in PTC during his 4 year reign of error don't recognize this as 100% accurate.

Drake was nice enough to leave out all the flip-flops of Brown's like DISTRICT VOTING, TDK(3 times even!), the Weiland/Westside issue, the Lutheran church/Walgreen issue,getting creamed by Ramsey after accusing everyone else of being either bankers or developers etc. etc.

You can totally despise Drake for his TSPLOST stand or whatever, but what he just posted here is the unvarnished truth about Brown as Mayor and since that time and how he operates. Unfortunately, there are a pretty hardcore group of morons in FC that feel like if you have a letter to the editor published you're a frickin' genius and will be a great leader.

[quote=efdrakejr]I take issue with his approach and his lack of honesty. I lived in PTC when he was mayor and got to witness his total lack of leadership which resulted in his "administration through editorial". He couldn't lead, couldn't get along, couldn't accomplish so he took to the papers week after week to whine, complain, mislead and assassinate character. It was pathetic and for that, I and about 75% of the voters, relieved him of his duties.

Miraculously, and unfortunately, he has resurrected as a commission member and I have gotten to witness his immeasurable dishonesty. Clearly, we are engaged in a very important debate on an historic referendum. One that you and I disagree on but I am always interested to read your point of view and review the data you present. Steve, on the other hand, argues through misdirection and fear. First off, he likes to present himself as a transportation expert although I can't imagine how a failed single term as mayor and half a term as county commissioner elevated him to that status. Nonetheless, with folks thinking he has some sort of expertise he has mislead them to believe the following:

- MARTA is coming to Fayette County. Anyone with any knowledge of the situation and some intellectual honesty knows that is not the case.

- TSPLOST calls for an enormous expansion of MARTA. In truth, he typically says "enormous expansion of transit" but then quickly turns the discussion to MARTA because that is the great bogeyman. A review of the project list shows that almost all of the MARTA projects are maintenance and upkeep projects. There are also studies for potential projects and the roughly 4 mile expansion of the line to CDC/Emory.

- We're all going to be forced to pay for MARTA. This is normally followed by some comment that a DeKalb or Fulton County politician made which can't be corroborated, but even if true, is meaningless. MARTA has been complete for about 37 years and Fulton and DeKalb have wanted the other metro counties to join in paying for it for at least that long. Any reasonable person though, knows that the representatives from the other counties will never go along with that.

- The TSPLOST will last for 30-40 years. I have posted, and Steve should know if he did any research, that to reimpose the tax is a four step process which includes the county governments, legislature and public all agreeing to extend it. Steve leads folks to believe that the legislature will just extend it on their own, which not only violates this bill but doesn't even reflect the legislatures history. If they were inclined to just raise our taxes to pay for transportation, then they would have just done it this time and saved us all the trouble of a referendum.

I could go on but this is not how I plan to spend my Saturday. What this leads to, not surprisingly, is total mistrust of Steve on all other issues. He may be right on most all issues facing the county but if he sat down with me one-on-one and explained the issue and his position, I would have a hard time coming away convinced because I know his history of misleading, embellishing, and demagoguing. That's no kind of man to have leading your county.[/quote]

and run against him some day, should I run as Ed Drake or Gene Drake? Or maybe I should be Francis, which the F stands for, and people could tell me to "Lighten up Francis", which I'm sure they would enjoy!!

to see you smile. How about I stop calling you ELF JUNIOR if you stop making derisive comments about your perception of the intelligence of those who post here. You know, we all put our pants on one leg at a time every morning, as the saying goes. Some do it faster, earlier and easier than others, but we all look like we are wearing pants afterwards.
Sound like a plan?

Crystal Springs water if I even jokingly suggested you run for anything besides the nearest road out of the area. In fact it just might be one of "your" roads if you're lucky or unlucky considering what kind of road you produce. If you did run for any office in the Fayetteville area I feel safe in stating the only thing you will be called is "Loser."

What do you call the Clifton Corridor, the Cumberland CID and the BRT in DeKalb? That's a whopping expansion of MARTA. What do you call $3.2 billion of our money (52% of all region-wide funds) in expanded transit? I would call that an enormous expansion of transit.

And Gene stop the lies ... tell everyone the transit is only half-funded in the TSPLOST and that it requires another 10-year TSPLOST to complete the projects! No more lies, Mr. lobbyist!

Gwinnett Chairwoman Charlotte Nash, an honest person, asked, "Where will those costs be covered if thereâ€™s not a regional SPLOST for the next 10-year period?" Look at the name of the article Nash's comments appeared in:
â€œ1 percent sales tax for transportation: For first time, officials acknowledge it may last more than 10 years,â€ The Saporta Report, July 21, 2011.

How stupid, Gene the lobbyist paid to support TSPLOST, that you say ignore what other regional leaders are saying about the entire region funding MARTA. I would say you are sticking you head in the sand, BUT you are actually sticking your hand in your wallet - because you and they firms you lobby for want the big TSPLOST bucks - admit it Gene. That is why you show up to all the TSPLOST debates in the metro area with "vote yes" sticker on.

Gene you lie again saying I said TSPLOST would last 30-40 years. Cite one reference where I said that. If you cannot, you are a lobbyist liar wanting to make a living off the taxpayers.

Then you go on to say, "He may be right on most all issues facing the county..." What a fool! There is a reason you would not stand up and debate me in any of those regional TSPLOST debates, lobbyist Gene - you would look like a idiot. You showed up to all of them and sat in the corner, but you did not have the guts to take us (being citizens who researched things) on, did you.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE LOBBYIST GENE DRAKE, MAKER OF MONEY OFf THE POOR TAXPAYERS AND CITE THOSE REFERENCES THAT I ASKED FOR. WE WILL SEE WHO IS TRUST WORTHY. THE ONLY ISSUES YOU SPEAK-UP ON ARE THE ONES THAT YOU PROFIT FROM.

By the Cumberland CID, I assume you mean the Enhanced Premium Bus Service from Acworth/Kennesaw/Town Center to the MARTA Arts Center. That terminates at MARTA and is transit but it is not MARTA. That's your approach, though, to lump all things transit in as MARTA (the bogeyman). Here's the project sheet.

Charlotte Nash's opinion is of no more interest to me than yours or DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis. The law is as I have stated it repeatedly. Here is the link. The section for Reimposition of the Tax is on page 24.

I go to these debates because it is important to my member companies but also because it is equally important to me. I don't want my kids to have to move away from Metro Atlanta to find jobs when they get out of college and I truly believe that if we don't address our transportation infrastructure needs, Atlanta will continue to lose its vibrance. I know that you and your crew don't believe that but I'm sure you also know I don't care what you think.

As for the debates, I would have been happy to be the debater instead of only getting a single question from the audience but the Tea Party didn't invite me. If you are having another debate in the next 10 days, sign me up.

As for you claiming that the TSPLOST will go on for 30-40 years, I've heard you and I've read it but I'm not tracking down audio and I'm not searching through the papers. The intellectually honest people who keep up with this know I am correct.

Gene Drake

BTW, seeing as your only jobs seem to be as a mayor and a county commissioner, you tell me who's pocketing the taxpayers' money!!

own. And it seems odd that you would decide not to track down audio or searching through papers to back up your statements regarding Steve Brown. You certainly have not hesitated to cite chapter and verse every thing but the Constitution and Gettysburg Address-and if you could tie them in to T-SPLOST you surely would.

Now, what I consider a low blow, even from you, is your statement regarding Mr. Brown pocketing the taxpayers money because he has served as mayor and is currently a county commissioner. Do you consider anyone who is duly elected by their peers to office, to be on the dole, so to speak? At least Mr. Brown was elected to his position. He is not a paid or unpaid lobbyist for something that no one but you and the others who expect to reap huge profits are pushing. Maybe you should have spent this week-end as you did last week-end, sitting on the 'dock of your bay', drinking your adult beverage with your adoring spouse and family surrounding you, cause you sure are wasting your time on this site.

I'm going to borrow a word here from Peter Pfeifer. The word is "faction."

There is a certain PC faction bound and determined to vilify their public officials.

However, the majority of PC voters voted for the exact people the "faction" tries to vilify.

The majority of Fayette County voters have been able to recognize dedication whereas the "faction" continues to vilify.

I have to give credit where credit is due!

Commissioner Steve Brown has consistently worked for the principles, values, and quality of life we all love about Fayette County.

He has lived up to his promises to the people who voted for him in 2010 without wavering once.

I have watched him defend the rights of our citizens when other Commissioners were trying to remove our rights. In his defense of our rights, he has proven his loyalty to Fayette County and her citizens.

He has proven his loyalty to Fayette County by going beyond the scope of our borders to educate himself and the rest of us about regional matters and how those matters can affect our future. THAT IS LEADERSHIP!

Mr. Drake and others here, obviously, have a hang-up concerning the intelligence of folks who don't agree with them. If folks don't agree with Mr. Drake and others, they must undoubtedly be "stupid!"

I have NEVER ONCE seen or heard Steve Brown insult or call into question another person's intelligence!

Are you really going to come on here and complain about how some other people villify our elected officials? Do you read the stuff that you, sugarfoot, mtm, pips, mlc, Steve Brown and others write about Frady, Hearn, Horgan and Smith? You may not have voted for them but they were elected too and you all have called them everything but a child of God. Honestly, I can't believe you write the things you do and then come on here and complain about anybody else.

They are so cult-like they can't even manage to choke-out "Well, Steve was really wrong about district voting and implying how backwoods all of us are that don't support it." The whole South Fayette Tea Party that is fervently opposed to district voting also never mentions that Brown diatribe EVER. It's like WHOOOSH! It never happened! Reminds me of the Three Monkeys of Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil.